You’ve probably already heard about how important it is to get a proper amount of sleep and how if you don’t get enough sleep, and not to a high enough quality, then it’s going to leave you feeling pretty miserable in yourself, and it can be very detrimental to your health. However, a good night’s sleep doesn’t come from just getting into bed and closing your eyes but instead starts way before you even go to bed. Your bedtime routine will make so much of an impact on the way you sleep, which is why we’re focusing on it today. These are the six things you’ll want to avoid doing before bed to encourage that perfect night.
1. Drinking Coffee
This point should be obvious. Coffee has caffeine, which is a stimulate that wakes your brain up; thus, drinking it before bed will give you a poor night’s sleep. In fact, you should really only have coffee in the morning because it stays in your system for over seven hours, but I get that can be difficult at times.
Tea contains caffeine, so avoid drinking it before bed, especially in large amounts. It would be best to reduce or stop using tea at least 1-2 hours before bedtime. However, much depends on how frequently you use tea and how sensitive you are to caffeine. Some people experience a calming effect after a warm cup of tea before bedtime. At the same time, it’s essential to choose a tea free of sleep-disrupting caffeine. So if you are considering drinking tea before sleep, make sure you choose one with the right ingredients. Create your nighttime routine with a tea set made of glass to make it more enjoyable and fun.
2. Watching Action
Whether you’re watching an action movie or playing an action-packed video game before bedtime, these are obviously forms of media which stimulate your brain, so try avoiding them before bed and see how much of a difference it makes for you.
3. Minimise Phone Usage
Using your smartphone, tablet, or computer before bed can be very bad for your sleep because A, you’re tricking your body into thinking it’s still daytime, thus keeping you awake. B, what you’re doing on your phone is probably very stimulating to your brain, such as looking at pictures on social media, and so not using your phone allows you to let your brain get into sleep mode easier. Braceyourhealth can help with tips on cutting down!
4. Using Bright Lights
There’s a lot of science behind this point that basically says that your brain reacts to nature and how much light there is around you. Lots of bright lights, like the sun, and your body will release chemicals that will keep you awake. If you have bright lights at home, then this has the same effect, thus keeping you awake.
Instead, use dim lights or no lights at all when it comes to the hour before bedtime to help your body naturally recognize that it’s time to go to sleep.
5. Missing the Window
When you naturally feel tired around half ten at night, you should really go to bed because your body is saying, hey, I’m ready to go to bed. If you don’t, your body says, ‘okay, we need to stay up’ and will pump your system full of chemicals that help you stay awake.
6. Exercising
While exercising is essential for being healthy, doing exercise really pumps up your body, which is why you’ll want to avoid it at least two hours before you go to bed. However, breathing exercises, yoga, and relaxing exercises can actually help promote a night of better sleep!
Summary
As you can see, there are plenty of things to think about if you’re looking to get a good night’s sleep. The best thing to do now is picking the one you’d like to work on and then slowly introduce it into your routine for the best results.
